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    Partying like a rock star

    How Lynn Wyatt spent her summer vacation with Elton John, Prince Albert & KarlLagerfeld

    Shelby Hodge
    Jul 20, 2011 | 4:47 pm
    • It's a smashing summer for Lynn Wyatt.
      Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
    • Lynn was among the 900 guests attending Prince Albert's wedding in Monaco.
    • Lynn stayed with John Furnish and Sir Elton John for the White Tie & Tiara Ball.
      Photo via Feed Agg
    • Lynn had the inside track on Karl Lagerfeld's 2011-12 Haute Couture show forChanel.
      Photo by Olivier Saillant/Chanel News
    • He organized the birthday lunch at Ouisie's for La Wyatt. Here they are shown ata previous event.
      Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchlightGroup.com
    • Tory Burch will host Lynn at her South Hampton home.
      Photo via Newscom

    "This is the most excited I've been in years," cooed Lynn Wyatt as she recalled last week's birthday celebration at Ouisie's, where she was saluted by 13 gents at what was billed as the "boyfriend lunch." But that statement could have easily applied to her entire summer to date.

    While mere mortals jockeyed for invitations to the chicest of soirées in Aspen and Nantucket, La Wyatt was comfortably ensconced in Monaco as the guest of the royal family for the wedding of Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock and overnighted with Elton John at Windsor for his White Tie & Tiara ball and is now planning on joining Tory Burch in the Hamptons for an overdue Long Island fix.

    Lynn's tales of her stratospheric summer adventures spill forth as casually as if she were recounting a weekend at the opera in Santa Fe. But no ordinary engagements these.

    Lynn is headed back to Elton John's country estate in Windsor next month when she will spend five days with the rock star, his partner David Furnish and their 7-month-old son Zachary. Lynn describes the baby's enormous room as a "nursery museum."

    A longtime friend of the royals of Monaco (she and Princess Grace and Prince Rainier were very close for decades), Lynn enjoyed, shall we say, the royal treatment as a special guest throughout the three days of celebration surrounding the Monaco royal wedding. Her invitations included a private reception and seating next to the royal box for the Eagles concert that kicked off the festivities, dinner in the gardens of the swank Hermitage Hotel for the royal viewing of Jean Michel Jarre's fireworks and lighting spectacular and, of course, the wedding.

    "Unforgettable," she described the three days of partying. "Everything was perfect. It was so beautiful," she said of the two-hour wedding that took place in the palace courtyard.

    Our Houston grande dame was among the 900 highly-envied wedding guests and made the cut for the late-night dinner for 500, a much-coveted invitation. Famed chef Alain Ducasse oversaw the Mediterranean-themed dinner where Lynn was seated with Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, a few other royals and where she had Sir Roger Moore as her dinner partner.

    Also on this 14-day Euro adventure (her longest stretch away since husband Oscar Wyatt suffered a stroke in November of 2008), Lynn was Elton John's houseguest the night of his annual AIDS benefit. "We stayed up until 3:30 in the morning, sitting in the kitchen dishing on the party," she said.

    Lynn is headed back to Elton's country estate in Windsor next month when she will spend five days with the rock star, his partner David Furnish and their 7-month-old son Zachary. Lynn describes the baby's enormous room as a "nursery museum."

    That visit abroad will include several days visiting friends in Monte Carlo and London. That's after house guesting with designer Tory Burch in South Hampton.

    A rare haute couture adventure

    After visiting Elton and attending the royal wedding, Lynn was on to Paris for a few days with friends. "When I arrived at my hotel, there were these gorgeous flowers and a note from Karl Lagerfeld. He invited me to his studio for that night," Lynn said.

    "That night" was the evening before his fall-winter 2011/2012 haute couture presentation at the Grand Palais. Lynn had the rare privilege of observing the Chanel maestro as he tweaked his designs and critiqued the models, and visited with muses Stella Tennant and Amanda Harlech. It was a rare treat, she said, to see "his creative genius in action, the master at work."

    The following evening, Lynn was front and center in the steel and glass Grand Palais, when the curtain went up at 10 p.m. on the space transformed into the Place Vendome. And as the London Telegraph reported, "In the center, on top of a Perspex plinth identical to one in Place Vendome, stood not Napoleon, but a glass statue of a hatted and suited, Coco Chanel (oh, Karl you are so naughty!)."

    As Lynn described the scene, "It was so very magical."

    While Lynn was in Europe, Oscar was back in the saddle making a business trip that included stops in Jordan, Dubai and Bangkok, with visits to a few friends along the way. While he continues to deal with stroke-related issues, Oscar is up and about, well enough to make these kinds of trips and to continue conducting business.

    Back home at last

    Lynn returned home in time to celebrate her birthday with three days of partying. The one fete that she is talking about the most is her boyfriend lunch, organized by close pal Sanford Criner. The adoring gents took over the wine room at Ouisie's for a midday feast laced with charming champagne toasts to the birthday girl.

    "I've just never felt so spoiled in my life. It was such a cute idea," she exclaimed.

    The guest list ran the gamut from Dr. Denton Cooley to Arthur Seeligson to the Menil Collection's Vance Muse to Ford Hubbard III, who composed a lyric that was so loving that Lynn is going to have it printed and framed.

    Lynn might have been the honoree but she was the one handing out party favors at the luncheon — special black T-shirts that she had designed for the guys. In bold block letters, the front read, "I am BF #1. No I'm BF #1." And then "Keep on fighting boys. I love it. LW"

    The backs of the T-shirts read "My boyfriend's back."

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    Hunger Ends Here

    Culinary stars shine at Houston Food Bank's 25th annual chefs’ dinner

    Joel Luks
    May 15, 2025 | 5:15 pm
    Houston Food Bank Chefs' Dinner 2025
    Photo by Emily Jaschke
    Hugo Ortega, Marcos Juarez, Brandon Wilhelm, Marie Riddle, Evelyn Garcia, and Aaron Bludorn.

    In a city that knows good food and good hearts, the Houston Food Bank’s 25th Annual Chefs’ Dinner proved that the two pair perfectly. Held on May 6 at the Hotel ZaZa in the Museum District, this year’s silver-anniversary soirée brought together a stylish crowd of philanthropists, food lovers, and culinary icons for an unforgettable night of fine dining.

    The annual benefit raised $520,000, enough to provide 1.56 million meals to individuals and families across the food bank’s 8-county service area.

    That’s not just dinner — it’s a lifeline.

    Guests indulged in a five-course wine dinner crafted by a dream team of Houston chefs. Hugo Ortega of H Town Restaurant Group brought his James Beard-winning magic to the mix, joined by Marcos Juarez of Hidden Omakase and Austin Simmons, Brandon Wilhelm of Hotel ZaZa, Evelyn Garcia of Jūn and Kin HTX, and a tag-team effort from Marie Riddle and Aaron Bludorn of Bludorn. With talent like that in the kitchen, attendees knew they were in for a culinary experience.

    In addition to the gastronomic glam, the night served up heartfelt honors.

    The Keegan Family received the Barbara Falik Humanitarian Award, a touching tribute to their longtime commitment to hunger relief—an effort deeply inspired by the late Mary Barden Keegan, whose legacy continues to nourish the mission of the Houston Food Bank. The event also paid tribute to Jim Mills, co-founder of the chefs’ dinner, recognizing his vision and dedication in helping this now-beloved event reach its 25-year milestone.

    Barbara and Steve Retzloff served as event chairs with support of a host committee composed of Jennifer and Tadd Tellepsen, Marci Rosenberg and Ben Samuels, Melissa and Bob Duran, Teresa and Jose Ivo, Jeff and Michelle Dodson, Holly and Jim Baker, Lee and Virginia Lahourcade, and Doe and Henry Florsheim. Among those in the crowd were Colleen and Michael B. Keegan, and Councilmember Twila Carter.

    Houston Food Bank Chefs' Dinner 2025
      

    Photo by Emily Jaschke

    Hugo Ortega, Marcos Juarez, Brandon Wilhelm, Marie Riddle, Evelyn Garcia, and Aaron Bludorn.

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